Northern Cape may soon get a PSL club: Local ANC bids for soccer team

An ambitious plot from the Northern Cape’s ANC government could see the province acquire its own Premier Soccer League (PSL) team. With no representation in the top division, the provincial leaders believe that bringing an elite soccer franchise to the region would help boost its profile significantly.

According to the Sunday Times, there are no rules preventing a political party from buying a sports team. However, there are strict limitations in place for how any potential club would be allowed to function: They are not allowed to promote or advertise the ANC in any way, and you can forget any green and yellow kits.

Could the Northern Cape get a PSL team?

The PSL would not allow them to play in official party colours. From what we’ve been told, it looks as if the planned franchise would simply be called Northern Cape Football Club. ANC Northern Cape provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga told the media that the government aim to spend upwards of R30 million on the project:

“We identified a sporting code that might fast-track the issue of sports tourism and that’s when the idea of a soccer team came about. The Free State is next to us and they have [PSL] soccer teams there, but for us we want to push sports tourism in the province.”

“We assigned the premier [Zamani Saul] to explore this and also negotiate with teams who are willing to sell their status in the PSL to the Northern Cape so that we can acquire a soccer team. The premier has already started this process and has reported to us that they have made progress.”

ANC Northern Cape provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga

Where would the team play, and who would make way?

These may be troublesome times for Bloemfontein Celtic fans. With the club up for sale and the persistent rumours about their relocation, they could be an outfit the Northern Cape ANC would look to target. They are, in reality, the closest team to the provincial border, too.

It’s not yet been revealed where the Northern Cape Football Club could be established. Kimberley will be a favourite, as it straddles the border with Free State and would still be about a 90-minute drive away for Celtic fans based in Bloem. The biggest municipality in the NC has decent transport links, too.

It’s unlikely that the franchise would be sent up north to Upington or Springbok. And, as tasty as the away days would be, there’s very little chance it will be based near Orania either. There will be no taxpayer-funded aggro, it seems.